Should I buy Resale or Direct?

[Mistuhchia]

I’m in CA and will be a family of 4. Currently thinking about buying 175 points direct at Aulani.
The resale value for Aulani is much better for from a $/pt perspective but I’m wondering if I should still do direct.

We are more likely to use our points to try for 1 bedroom villas at the grand Californian or other FL resorts once a year and if we can’t find any, would Stay at a regular room in the Disneyland hotel or grand California.

I don’t think I can do that with resale points right? Or should I not even use DVC points to book regular rooms because it’s a bad deal?

 

[giovanni2231]

You can use resale points, but in order to get the full benefit (mostly discounts on tickets and merchandise) you need to have at least 75 points directly from Disney. So, what most people opt for is to buy the base points needed from Disney and then add on points for the same use year. same resort resale. There are other benefits for Disney bought points vs resale points, but if your planning to use them between places like Aulani, CA and possibly Orlando, there is no need to buy 100% of your points from Disney and pay that premium price. If you plan to use the points for cruising, other Disney adventures (non Disney Hotels), there are some restrictions to those points as well as last year Disney implemented that any of the new DVC resorts (Example: Riviera) will not be able to booked with Resale points. I believe the original 14 resorts are included, so as long as your not hell bent on any new DVC properties, you'll be fine.

One more word of advice, if you plan to use the points for Grand Californian more than Aulani, you may want to think about buying Grand Cali points not Aulani. While Aulani is probably cheaper, as a home resort, it isn't a great home resort unless you plan to visit Hawaii often. It will be much harder to get Grand Cali at the 7 month window as a non home resort than it will be to get Aulani at the 7 month window as a non home resort. Disney probably has Aulani points to buy direct, Grand Cali you may have to go on a wait list from Disney to get. That should tell you something. Just some food for thought.

And to be safe, just clarify with Disney the minimum needed (Im almost 100% positive it is 75 points direct from Disney).

Good Luck!

 

[Cyberc1978]

First. Direct benefits are 100 points minimum from Disney not 75 (Disney increased it)

The resale value of Aulani is actually not good if you compare to direct. Also if you want to book VGC then you need to own, as you otherwise risk end up with no room. VGC book very fast and the few rooms left at 7 months goes VERY fast. Another thing should you buy direct and use your points at the DLH its a very poor use of points and the rooms will be more expensive as Disney can change the cost as they see fit. On another note the availability might not be any better at DLH than VGC.

Resale DVC points cant be used to book a regular Disney hotel. Resale points are "only" good at a DVC deluxe resort or RCI. RCI is also a poor use of points.

If you want to book Aulani and sometimes WDW and VGC I would go with a WDW resort and either SSR, BLT or AKV. It really doesn't matter at all points are equal at 7 months.

If you dont go a minimum of 2 times within 12 months then the direct perk of a Annual Pass does not matter and you should buy everything resale. If you can swing 2 trips within 12 months then you might consider buying 100 points direct.

 

[poofyo101]

First. Direct benefits are 100 points minimum from Disney not 75 (Disney increased it)

The resale value of Aulani is actually not good if you compare to direct. Also if you want to book VGC then you need to own, as you otherwise risk end up with no room. VGC book very fast and the few rooms left at 7 months goes VERY fast. Another thing should you buy direct and use your points at the DLH its a very poor use of points and the rooms will be more expensive as Disney can change the cost as they see fit. On another note the availability might not be any better at DLH than VGC.

Resale DVC points cant be used to book a regular Disney hotel. Resale points are "only" good at a DVC deluxe resort or RCI. RCI is also a poor use of points.

If you want to book Aulani and sometimes WDW and VGC I would go with a WDW resort and either SSR, BLT or AKV. It really doesn't matter at all points are equal at 7 months.

If you dont go a minimum of 2 times within 12 months then the direct perk of a Annual Pass does not matter and you should buy everything resale. If you can swing 2 trips within 12 months then you might consider buying 100 points direct.

spot on.
if you plan to go to VGC alot you should buy resale there.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The direct perks have limited economic value at either DL or Aulani.

 

[Mistuhchia]

Thank you! This has been really helpful.
Flying from CA to Florida is probably something I’d only do once a year, and finding VGC seems to be impossible

I’ll be on the lookout for some good resale deals then

thank you!

 

[a742246]

If you decide on Aulani. Definitely buy resale and look for a subsidized dues contract, MF's can be $2 a point cheaper. Disney doesn't exercise ROFR very often at Aulani so you can bargain more for price.

 

[Sandisw]

I am not sure I would buy Aulani for no plans to stay there, VGC will be difficult and depending on when you want to WDW, 7 month booking could be difficult.

Mid September to early January is a very busy DVC time and rooms book up quickly. 1 bedrooms would be easier for sure, but you may find getting a complete stay in one room type or resort will take a lot of work.

 

[Mistuhchia]

I can't seem to find a clear answer to this, but do I still have access to the Timeshare network if I buy DVC through resale?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I can't seem to find a clear answer to this, but do I still have access to the Timeshare network if I buy DVC through resale?

Yes, you can trade into RCI. Even with resale it is often a poor value for points, and shouldn't be thought of as a primary use of the timeshare.

 

[Bearval]

I’m in CA and will be a family of 4. Currently thinking about buying 175 points direct at Aulani.
The resale value for Aulani is much better for from a $/pt perspective but I’m wondering if I should still do direct.

We are more likely to use our points to try for 1 bedroom villas at the grand Californian or other FL resorts once a year and if we can’t find any, would Stay at a regular room in the Disneyland hotel or grand California.

I don’t think I can do that with resale points right? Or should I not even use DVC points to book regular rooms because it’s a bad deal?

Wait a few more months for the recession to take hold and the resale prices will drop further.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

You can use those resale points to stay at all the places you mentioned, including the resorts in WDW (except for Riviera). We decided to do resale because of the huge price difference compared to buying direct. We don’t live in Florida, so the discount on the annual passes really didn’t matter for us. And as far as the discount on retail, we would have to buy over 5,700 tee shirts (priced at $30) to break even on the what we saved going resale. For us it was a no brainer. It sounds like you may be in a similar situation.